Postal Diary 1 January -11 February 2014 by Joseph Fenech (JF) and John De Battista (JDB)

1 January MaltaPost plc announced that, following the approval of the Communications Authority (MCA), various postage rates were being revised with effect from the 1 January 2014. These changes are outlined below:

Letter Mail to Europe Current Rates effective 1 January 2014 0-20g €0.37 0 - 30g €0.59 21g - 40g €0.67 31g-60g €1.25 41g- 60g €0.97 Letter weighing Letter weighing above 60g, up above 60g, up €0.30 €0.30 to 2kg, each to 2kg, each additional 20g additional 20g

International Registered Mail Current Rates effective 1 January 2014 Fee to register mail €2.25 €3.00 With Advice of Delivery €1.75 €2.00

Local Letter Current Rates effective 1 January 2014 Letter weighing below SOg €0.26 €0.26 (unchanged)

Letter weighing above €0.32 €0.42 50g and up to lOOg

41 Letter weighing above lOOg and up to 2kg, for €0.20 €0.20 each additional 50g

Local Registered Mail Rates effective 1 Current January 2014 Fee to register mail €0.90 €0.90 (unchanged)

With Advice of Delivery €0.90 €1.20

Local Bulk Letter Mail (simultaneous posting of 50 or more identical items) Rates effective 1 Current January 2014 Letter weighing up to €0.24 €0.24 (unchanged) 50g Letter weighing above €0.30 €0.36 50g and up to lOOg Letter weighing above lOOg and up to 2kg, for €0.20 €0.20 each additional 50g

(JF)

2 January MaltaPost plc notified that, in agreement with the Malta Communications Authority, no delivery of mail was to be effecte::l, and all post offices were to remain closed for business, on Thursday, 2 January 2014. Normal service was to resume on Friday, 3 January 2014. (JF)

2 January The Sub-Post Office at 'Fleet Stationery', Testaferrata Street, Ta' Xbiex XBX 1402, was closed for business on the 2 January 2014. (JF)

42 2 January The Sub-Post Office at 'Future Focus', 9, Triq 1-Imhazen, FRN 1118, was closed for business on the 2 January 2014. (JF)

3 January MaltaPost p.l.c. announced that on 3 January 2014, it was to issue a set of three stamps in the series 'Treasures of Malta'. The stamps illustrating fountains located in Floriana, and Gozo bear a face value of €0.42, €0.59 and €1.25 respectively. The stamps were designed by Cedric Galea Pirotta and were issued in sheets of 10 stamps. Each stamp measures 44 mm x 31mm, with a perforation of 13.9 x 14.0 (comb.) bearing the Maltese Crosses watermark. The print run, by Printex Ltd, consisted of 200,000 of the €0.42 denomination, 700,000 of the €0.59 denomination and 100,000 of the €1.25 denomination. The stamps were printed in 2013. MaltaPost p.l.c. prepared an occasion hand stamp to cancel the stamps on the first day of issue (on FDC No. 1120 14). The hand stamp was inscribed "MALTAPOST ------MALTA/TREASURES OF MALTA/ SERIES II 'FOUNTAINS '/JUM IL-ItRUG/03-01-14", and also included an outline image of a fountain ornament. The MaltaPost Philatelic Bureau featured these stamps in Stamp Bulletin No. 316. It should be noted that an error has been observed in the text description next to the images in the bulletin. The €0.42 value stamp image is actually that of the Fountain in Floriana and not of the Fountain at San Anton Gardens as described. The latter is the image to be found on the €0.59 stamp. (JDB)

3 January The Sub-Post Office at 51, Triq Gorg Borg Olivier, Mellieha MLit 1024, was closed for business on the 3 and 4 January 2014. (JF)

3 January Legal Notice 1 of20 14-Postal Services Act (CAP. 254) - Postal Services (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014- was published as a supplement to Government Gazette No. 19,190 dated 3 January 2014. Through this Legal Notice, in exercise of the powers conferred by article 81 of the Postal Services Act, the Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business introduced certain changes relating to the fee structure concerning operators authorised to provide postal services. (JF)

43 15 January MaltaPost plc notified that, in agreement with the Malta Communications Authority, the last collection of mail from allletterboxes was to be effected at l.OOpm, on the 15 January 2014. On the same date, the Parcel Office at the MaltaPost Head Office was to close at 4.00pm. (JF)

16January In a Company Announcement issued by MaltaPost plc on the 16 January 2014 pursuant to the Malta Financial Services Authority Listing Rules, MaltaPost informed that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) ofthe Company held on Wednesday, 15 January 2014, had approved all the five ordinary resolutions on the agenda. The first ordinary resolution was for the AGM to receive and approve the Audited Financial Statements and consider the Report of the Directors and of the Auditors, for the year ended 30 September 2013. The second resolution was for the AGM to declare a final ordinary net dividend of€0.04 per nominal €0.25 share, representing a final net payment of€1,368,702 either in cash or by the issue of new shares at the option of each individual shareholder. The third resolution was for the AGM to re-appoint as auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers, and to authorise the Board of Directors to fix their remuneration. The fourth resolution was for the AGM to appoint Directors in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Company. The fifth resolution was for the AGM to establish at €30,000 the maximum annual aggregate Directors' remuneration for the holding of their office. Following this Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors of MaltaPost plc was made up ofMr Joseph Said (as Chairman), Mr Julius Bozzino, Mr David Stellini, Mr Philip Tabone and Mr Aurelio Theuma. A number of interesting facts emerge from the MaltaPost plc Annual Report for 2013. During the financial year 2013, MaltaPost employed a total of637 staff members (compared to 619 the previous year). Premises were secured in Industrial Park in Gozo to develop a state-of-the-art document management centre. A property in St. Paul's Bay was purchased and another was identified in Floriana; both sites will be used as Post Offices to improve customer reach in the respective areas. A promise of sale agreement was entered into for the property currently used as a Post Office in Itamrun. The upgrade and refurbishment of the Post Office network continued as planned, with the new Post Office opening in February 2013. As at the 6 December 2013, the Issued and Fully Paid Up Share Capital was made up of34,217,549 ordinary shares of€0.25 each, all of which carried the same voting rights. Equity attributable to shareholders at 30 September 2013 stood at €16.6 million. The number of shareholders of the Company as at 30 September 2013 totalled 2,154. Redbox Limited, a subsidiary ofLombard Bank Malta plc, held 69.2% of the share capital of the Company as at that date. At year-end, there were 34 Post Offices (29 in Malta and 5 in Gozo), 28 Sub-Post Offices (25 in Malta and 3 in Gozo), as well as 1 Mobile Post Office and 1 Vintage Mobile Post Office. (JF)

44 22January MaltaPost p.l.c. announced the second re-print of ~""""'=====:------., the €0.37c from the "Occasions" stamp issue of 17 March 2010 in single se-tenant stamp format. The re-print was made available as from Friday 24 January 2014. Collectors could purchase copies '------.....a of the stamp reprint from the MaltaPost Philatelic Bureau personalised with the label attached bearing the MaltaPost logo on a white background. MaltaPost p.l.c. also notified that the Sub Post Office at 'SGS', 6, Triq Felic Borg, San Gwann SGN 2040 was to be temporarily closed for business on Friday 24 January afternoon and Saturday 25 January 2014. The public was given the choice to avail itself of postal services provided from the San Gwann Post Office situated at 95, Triq in-, San Gwann SGN 9031 if it so wished. The Malta Communications Authority published its "Quality ofService Requirements and Targets to be achieved by MaltaPost for the Universal Postal Service" (Final decision notice MCA/D/14-1786). One may access this document online on the MCA's website at http://www.mca.org.mt (JDB)

28January On Tuesday, 28 January 2014, MaltaPost plc issued a stamp as part ofa joint issue with Israel, with the common theme ofthe issue being "The Halls". The Mediterranean Conference Centre in is depicted on the Malta stamp, while the Knights' Hall in Acre, Israel, is shown on the Israeli one. Both stamps were designed by Ronen Goldberg oflsrael. The Malta stamp, carrying a face value of€0.51, was issued in sheets of6 stamps in 'tete-beche' format. Each stamp measures 41mm x 30.5mm, with a perforation of 13.7 x 13.8 (comb). The stamps were offset printed on Maltese Crosses watermarked paper by Printex Limited. 60,000 copies of the stamp were printed. MaltaPost plc prepared a special commemorative hand-stamp to cancel the stamp on the first day of issue (on FDC No. 2/2014). The hand-stamp was inscribed "MALTAPOST- ---­ ------MALTA/ISRAEL - MALTA/JOINT STAMP ISSUE/JUM IL-ERUG/28-01-14", and also featured the Maltese and Israeli flags in the centre. The MaltaPost Philatelic Bureau featured this stamp in the stamp bulletin No. 317. The Israeli stamp, with a face value ofiLS 3.90, was also available for purchase from the MaltaPost outlets. These stamps, which were available in sheets of 15, were offset printed (security mark-microtext) by Cartor Security Printing ofFrance. The margins of

45 the sheets ofboth the Malta and the Israeli stamps include a map ofthe Mediterranean, with arrows pointing out the Maltese Islands and Israel on the map, as well as the text "The Halls of the Knights Hospitallers in Valletta, Malta and Acre, Israel" in both English and Israeli. The year 2014 marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Malta. On Wednesday, 5 February 2014, MaltaPost marked this joint stamp issue with an event held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, the building depicted on the Malta stamp of the joint issue. An event to celebrate this joint issue was also held the previous week at the Ministry ofForeignAffairs in Jerusalem. (JF) 30January MaltaPost p.l.c notified that the Sub Post Office at 51, Triq Gorg Borg Olivier, Mellieha ML:f=I 1024 was to be closed for business on Friday 31 January and Saturday 1 February 2014. The public was given the choice to avail itself of postal services provided from the Mellieha Post Office situated in 100, Triq il-Mithna 1-Gdida, Mellieha ML:f=I 1107 if it so wished. (JDB)

3 February MaltaPost p.l.c. announced that thanks to its new online Postage Rate Calculator, customers can now instantly calculate the cost of sending a letter or a parcel and the respective time frames right from the comfort of their computer. Viewers will also be able to compare rates between one service and another and choose the best possible service to match their delivery needs. Using the online Postage Rate Calculator is easy. One must simply specify the destination, whether the mail is a letter or a parcel and its weight. Following this the website will provide the different options available, the cost and also the approximate time frame that delivery is to take place. The Postage Rate Calculator can be accessed from the website's Quick Links or directly through .com/postagecalculator.

5 February On Wednesday 5th February 2014, MaltaPost p.l.c. marked the Malta- Israel joint stamp issue with an event held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta - the building depicted on the stamps. An event to celebrate this issue was also held the previous week at the Ministry ofForeign Affairs in Jerusalem. Charles Dalli a academic delivered a lecture on 'The Medieval Jewish Heritage of the Maltese Islands', which highlighted the connections between the two countries dating back to the Middle Ages and the living heritage of these ties today. When addressing those attending the event MaltaPost chairman, Joseph Said, thanked Israel Post for teaming up with MaltaPost and explained how "the significance of this collaboration goes beyond a philatelic product but it confirms the positive relations that exist between the postal operators of both countries as well as the intention of

46 further strengthening ties between the two". In his short speech H.E. David Oren, Ambassador oflsrael to Malta highlighted the importance of the event, which usually happens once, and the fact that it coincides with the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between Israel and Malta.

7 February MaltaPost p.l.c. notified that the Sub Post Office at 'Midas', 34, Triq Ix-Xatt, MSK 2113 was to be closed for business on Saturday 8 February 2014. MaltaPost p.l.c advised the public that if it so wishes it can avail itself of postal services provided from the following Post Offices: Zabbar Post Office- Centru Civiku, Triq il-Kunvent, ttaz-Zabbar ZBR 1351. Zejtun Post Office- 37, Triq San Lucjan, Iz-Zejtun ZTN 1834

11 February MaltaPost p.l.c. issued the following company announcement pursuant to the Malta Financial Services Authority Listing Rules. "Interim Directors' Statement Looking ahead, we remain focused on improving revenue and profit growth through product and service diversification and by seeking opportunities arising from the structural trends in e-retailing. The revision of certain tariffs with effect from 1 January 2014 is expected to contribute towards mitigating the continued decrease in Letter Mail volumes. However, the main objective underlying such tariff revisions is to alleviate some ofthe pressures on the realistic sustainability of the Company's Universal Service Obligations. We continue to maintain an open dialogue with the Malta Communications Authority to ensure that the Company can continue to reasonably and realistically fulfil its obligations." MaltaPost also announced that a total of twenty-two awards were presented to MaltaPost staff members recognising them for their continuous commitment in achieving the highest quality and best results during the last financial year which ended in September 2013. The awards were handed to the winners during the Company's Annual Staff Meeting which welcomed all MaltaPost staff from the head office as well as the different delivery hubs and post offices. Eleven individual awards were handed out whilst four group awards were given. The Employee of the year was given to Doreen Mizzi who works in the MaltaPost San Gwann Delivery Hub. MaltaPost also announced that it is also the holder of the EMS Cooperative Performance Award (Silver Level) for its performance in 2012. EMS is an international postal Express Mail Service for documents and merchandise, offered by postal operators of the Universal Postal Union.

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